Julian Alvarez and Pep Guardiola have created a selection dilemma at Man City

It's always handy when you have players capable of stepping up to the plate when others aren't performing quite as well as they can.

You'd be hard-pressed to say Erling Haaland isn't still performing for Manchester City this season considering he already has eight Premier League goals to his name in just eight games. If he keeps that up he will net 38 and break yet another record.

Yet, at the same time, he had scored a frankly ridiculous 15 goals at the same stage last season so there has been a considerable decline in his score rate. Those sorts of numbers are nearly impossible to maintain or repeat, though, and Haaland shouldn't be a victim of his own success.

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The Norwegian has now committed the sin of not scoring in three games but what is a bit more worrying is that he hasn't really been getting chances, either. Haaland didn't have a sniff against Arsenal, literally accumulating an xG of 0.0, and only got the briefest of openings against Wolves. When he does get chances, like at RB Leipzig, he isn't taking them as confidently as he can.

It's not to say he's lost any of his world-class ability. Haaland is clearly just a bit rusty and is feeling his way back into the swing of things. There's no doubt the goals will flow again with fury.

Thankfully, while he's been below his best, Julian Alvarez has stepped up his own game. The Argentine had a surprisingly good debut campaign but largely played a rotational role. This year, he has started every Premier League match and has been well worth his spot, with Pep Guardiola labelling him 'almost undroppable'.

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